Mao Zedong's grandson has become China's youngest major general, state media has confirmed.

General Mao Xinyu, 40, said his family name was "definitely a factor" in his recent promotion in an interview posted today on NetEase.com.

He said he hopes for a career in politics, but would eschew business opportunities, preferring to live off his modest salary.

"Family background is definitely a factor. This is an objective fact that you can't avoid," Mao said.

"I feel it among my friends and colleagues in the army, everyone has this sense. All the people take their love and respect for Mao Zedong and transfer it on to my person."

Although his promotion was confirmed by state media this week, reports he had obtained the rank had been circulating for months. Mao, a military historian and member of the government's main political advisory body, is a fervent defender of his grandfather's legacy.

Asked if he wished to pursue politics, he responded "of course" but gave no specifics.

"My mother chose for me in becoming a soldier, an excellent path and angle, and it's from the military that I will rise," he said.

His grandfather led the bloody two decade-long revolution that overthrew Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists and established the People's Republic of China in 1949. Once in power, Mao Zedong plunged the nation into years of famine, political chaos, and ultimately stagnation.

He held total power right up to his death in 1976, and his embalmed body continues to lie in state in a mausoleum on Tiananmen Square, Beijing.